


There is hope

by salvatorestjohn



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Everyone Is Alive, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Oliver Queen, Implied Relationships, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22437739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salvatorestjohn/pseuds/salvatorestjohn
Summary: Right now, though, all Barry can bring himself to focus on is Oliver. He's been sitting in the medical bay with him for the past hour, waiting for him to wake up. The fight with the shadow demons knocked him unconscious. Bruises and cuts litter his face, barely a part of him that isn't covered in blood. Gideon said there's a forty-eight percent chance of him going into a coma. Kara said to be hopeful that there's a higher chance he won't, even if it's only by two-point-something percent.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Kara Danvers/Oliver Queen, Barry Allen/Oliver Queen, Oliver Queen & Mia Smoak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	There is hope

The waverider is surprisingly quiet. Not that Barry would really know what it's usually like, but considering everyone who's part of the team, he's got a feeling that there's never a dull moment. Usually. Not today. No one seems to want to be the first to break the silence, in case it triggers something and disturbs the moment of calm they seem to have been given to recover. The Crisis isn't over yet, they can all feel it. There's something else coming. 

Right now, though, all Barry can bring himself to focus on is Oliver. He's been sitting in the medical bay with him for the past hour, waiting for him to wake up. The fight with the shadow demons knocked him unconscious. Bruises and cuts litter his face, barely a part of him that isn't covered in blood. Gideon said there's a forty-eight percent chance of him going into a coma. Kara said to be hopeful that there's a higher chance he won't, even if it's only by two-point-something percent. 

But Barry isn't feeling too hopeful right now. He supposes that's why she's the Paragon of it and he's not. 

The machine hooked up next to him beeps away. Steady, thankfully. 

He sighs and drops his head forward into his hands. He stays like that for a moment, trying to calm himself down. There's just this gnawing in his gut and he hates it. Oliver isn't supposed to die, no matter what the Monitor says. He desperately wishes there was something he could do. Something to at least help Mia, who's a wreck but being distracted by Sara. 

His eyes are wet and dry at the same time. He closes them, digging his palms into them as he sucks in a shaking breath. It steadies him the tiniest bit, long enough for his head to clear just a little. Clearing his throat, he sniffs, tries to wipe his eyes clear of any stray tears and drags his hands through his hair as he looks back over at Oliver. 

"Come on, man," he says quietly, his voice broken and rasping to his ears as his mouth twists into an attempt at a smile, but all it's doing is holding back another wave of tears. He bites the inside of his cheek. "You don't get to go out like this, alright? Making some...sacrifice for me and Kara. Even the anti-monitor's saying you aren't supposed to go out like this."

Oliver doesn't stir. _Of course he doesn't,_ Barry thinks. He's unconscious and bordering on comatose. Still, part of him is desperate, and he's clinging to that desperation, because he can't find a single other thing left inside of him. It's all he has at this point.

"So," he draws in another deep breath, straightening up in his chair, dropping a hand to Oliver's arm, "you gotta wake up. The universe said so, alright, and I don't know about you, but I don't feel like arguing with the universe anymore. Plus, you know Kara's a worrier, and I'm a little scared she might laser a hole in this ship soon if you don't wake up and hug her. You know it always works when she's freaking out about something. Pretty sure you have a gift."

He laughs a little, and he can hear Oliver's laugh in his head. His heart twists. His smile slips as everything becomes hazy around the edges once more. He can't stop himself from crying, not while Oliver's like this. So still, barely breathing, more blood and bruises than skin and flesh. 

He shakes his head, trying to steady his breathing, but it only makes it worse. A choked noise tears from the back of his throat and he quickly covers his mouth. Digging his fingers into his face, curling along his chin. His other hand's still on Oliver's arm. He's so cold. 

"This should never have happened to you," he breathes out, moving his hand from his mouth, but his voice cracks and he quickly swallows. 

He can't say anything else; his throat's closed up and it's hard enough to breathe let alone try and form any words. All he can do is stare through tears stinging his eyes, feeling them slip down his cheeks. He halfheartedly attempts to wipe them away. He should leave soon. The thought's been stuck in his head for the last half hour, because he knows that the rest of the team need him. Kara especially needs a distraction. It's just been working himself up to actually letting him out of his sight for even a minute. 

But Oliver's heartbeat is steady. His chest is rising and falling, even if slower than he would like. And Gideon would immediately update them on any problems before it got too bad, or if he was waking up. Mia and Kara made sure she would in case they were helping the team with something.

He nods to himself, letting that little voice of reason in the back of his mind convince him. It won't do Oliver much good to wake up if the entire universe has been wiped out by antimatter. He was willing to die to save it, and to save them. Barry will do anything to make sure that wasn't for nothing. 

Forcing a little composition into himself, he straightens up, taking in a deep breath. He leans forward, his eyes flickering closed for just a moment as he presses his lips to Oliver's forehead. His heart stutters in his chest in protest to him slowly pulling back. He ducks his head, sniffling, keeping his eyes closed for a beat as he ignores the tears still pushing their way out. 

A quiet groan breaks through the otherwise silence. Barry's eyes snap open. He quickly lifts his head, and he can hear it now, the heartbeat monitor, getting stronger, faster. He looks at Oliver with his wide eyes, watching him stir and shift. Barry's already halfway to getting out of his chair to call for Kara and Mia when Oliver turns his head. His eyes slowly flutter open until he's locked his gaze and Barry sinks back down into the chair, hearing Gideon inform the rest of the team of the change. 

"Hey," Barry breathes out softly, his heart pounding into his ribs.

To his surprise, Oliver's mouth curves up into a smile. The action stretches the cuts on his face slightly and he winces, but his smile doesn't slip at all. If anything, it widens that tiny bit more as Barry feels him move the hand he was almost holding to actually grip his gently.

"If you were trying to pull some true love's kiss thing on me then you did it wrong," he jokes despite the rawness to his voice and how it cracks a little. "Although, I guess it still worked."

Barry can't even respond, smiling so wide that his face aches a little and his eyes are still stinging. He huffs out a half-laugh of disbelief and utter relief, and it feels so good. To see Oliver smiling up at him, his eyes open. The light still shining within them as he holds his gaze, lightly squeezing his hand.

"I'm so happy you're alive," Barry says quietly, shaking his head slowly. "We thought—you were almost—"

"I'm okay," Oliver cuts him off, then glances around, barely moving his head as a tiny crease appears in his forehead. "I think. Where are we?"

Barry opens his mouth to answer, but fast, approaching footsteps catch his attention, and the next second, Mia appears in the doorway with Kara right behind her. The looks on their faces are so similar it's almost scary for a moment; hopeful but absolutely terrified to see for themselves in case it's all just a dream. Then Oliver looks over at them.

"Dad," Mia breathes out. 

She doesn't hesitate to practically speed over to them, at the other side of the bed in an instant as Kara approaches behind. Oliver's eyes widen as she immediately presses her face into his shoulder, crying. He huffs out another gentle laugh that sounds like it hurts his throat. He doesn't seem to care. 

"Hey, hey." He carefully lifts a hand to the back of her head, his fingers threading through her hair as his smile widens. "Mia, I'm okay."

"But you were—you could have—" she tries to say, but it's muffled and she can't seem to get the rest out as she just shakes her head and pulls back enough to be able to see his face, to be sure. "Dad, you—"

"Am still alive," Oliver cuts her off gently. He moves his hand to stroke along her cheek, wiping away a tear as he pushes her hair back. "See? I'm fine, I promise, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm guessing Gideon fixed me up. And considering who created her, I trust her and her abilities."

He glances up at Barry, and that light in his eyes has grown. Barry smiles back, feeling a weight lift from his chest and a familiar warmth start to seep back in. There's movement on his right and he looks over to find Kara next to him, glancing down as she takes his hand. When he looks back up to meet her gaze, he sees the tears shining in her eyes and how her mouth twists, doing everything in her power to look composed. 

Barry lets go of her hand, but only so he can wrap an arm around her instead, letting her curl into his side. He rubs her arm comfortingly as they both hold each other together. Mia smiles now with Oliver half-hugging her to the best of his ability. 

"We're glad you're okay, Ollie," Kara says, nodding, smiling at him. 

"Of course," he says, and feigns confusion, glancing between the three of them. "Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?"

Mia laughs, and Barry and Kara are right there with her. Oliver grins, then he dissolves into soft chuckling, barely wincing at the pain it must be causing him. He doesn't seem to mind too much as he looks at them all with that smile and the light in his eyes. There is hope, Barry thinks, catching Kara's eyes as he does. If they can get around this, then whatever Crisis throws at them, they can find a way around it as well.


End file.
